Well well well... God has done it again and shocked us with His immense care and love for us through the intertwining of our stories. He has blown us away!

It all started when I (Emily) moved to Dallas to work for KLIFE in August of 2021. I moved into the KLIFE duplex with Tori, while Konner Parsley lived on the other side of the duplex. Konner, Tori, and I hung out a lot when we first moved, as he was kindly introducing us to his friends in Dallas! We had a blast benefiting from his intentionality and kindness. One day, only a few days into moving, I tried to get home from something without using my phone maps... it took me 45 minutes to make it 5 miles, but I was THRILLED! I burst into the KLIFE common space to tell Konner so he could express the same level of pride towards my accomplishment and I found not just Konner, but a realllly cute blonde guy with him, deep in conversation... after I apologized for interrupting, Konner introduced Sam to me. It was a big moment for us ◡̈ !

Over the next few months, we continued to grow in friendship, and I was impressed by his kindness, intentionality, leadership, & honestly his confidence in being on aux. (huge) Then one night after a group of us all went to a movie, he asked me out in the movie theater parking lot!! It was awesome. We went on some dates and he pursued me really thoughtfully.

After a little while, our relationship fizzled out and we broke up... not the most iconic part of our love story. BUT we truly believe God not only WORKS through a redemptive story, but He loves redemption! Months later in November of 2022, after we had developed a friendship again and gotten to know each other as friends, we reconnected and rekindled the flame ◡̈ !! And then made it official about a week later ◡̈! We got to visit each other's families in Missouri and Portland multiple times, attended weddings together, went on trips with friends, hosted cooking nights honoring the brilliant Bobby Flay, and have shared so many other sweet memories. We have gotten to love each other through medical procedures, loss, fear, and pain, and also gotten to celebrate each other's successes and victories!

On November 3rd, Sam proposed and I said YES! He so thoughtfully coordinated everything! Our parents helped him set up a beautiful picnic for us and we got to share sweet time together and really sweet time with our families over the weekend, followed by a celebration with friends!

God has grown us both individually together immensely over the last year. He has deepened our love for Him, and shown us both the value and gift of prayer. We are so so excited to continue to grow together as we get to love each other and love the Lord through our marriage.

Sam is the most God-fearing man I have ever known. He cares so deeply to be obedient to God and care for His people. I am thrilled to get to join our lives together as we get to pray for people, care for people, and be on each other's team! We are so excited!!! Thanks for reading our story. We hope it reminds you of the redemptive nature of God, His undeserved favor, and His kindness to us all.

We can't wait to get married!!!